ABSTRACT
Maternal Metaphors I (2004), curated by Myrel Chernick, and Maternal Metaphors II (2006), curated by Chernick and Jennie Klein, were exhibitions that addressed the psychic, material, sociocultural, metaphorical and ideological aspects of motherhood and the maternal in contemporary Western culture. At the time that these exhibitions were curated, very few exhibitions of contemporary art dealing with motherhood and the maternal had taken place, as the art world did not welcome children or mothers. This chapter documents the obstacles and rewards encountered by the curators and artists in mounting these two exhibitions.
